AT THE NATION'S TABLE

AT THE NATION'S TABLE; Appleton, Wis.

By Marialisa Calta

Published: December 14, 1988

TIM O'CONNELL says with some pride that his new restaurant is the only one of its kind in the Middle West, an assertion difficult to contest. Mr. O'Connell's restaurant, Mongo's, specializes in Mongolian barbecue - tasty dishes made with meat, fish and vegetables flavored with oils, wines and sauces and stir-fried on a large circular grill.

Mr. O'Connell, a 31-year-old Wisconsin native, brought Mongolian barbecue to America's heartland after living in Taiwan for several years. There, he says, Mongolian barbecue restaurants are common. He even worked at one, supplementing the wages that he earned as a musician and that his wife, Jennifer, earned as a model.

''It has nothing to do with Mongolia, as far as I can figure out,'' Mr. O'Connell said. ''It's authentic Taiwanese cooking.''

The O'Connells searched for a place to launch Mongolian barbecue upon unsuspecting Wisconsin palates, which are accustomed to steaks, bratwurst and fried perch. They decided to locate in Appleton when they learned that this small industrial city and its surrounding communities, about 100 miles north of Milwaukee, constitute one of the fastest growing areas in the state. Since Mongo's opened in March, the reception has been excellent, Mr. O'Connell said.

''We were delighted to have a new kind of restaurant in town,'' said Karen Pfefferle, a teacher who has dined at Mongo's several times after hearing about it from friends. Ten years ago, said her husband, James, a restaurant serving such unusual cuisine here would have been ''unthinkable.'' But changes are occurring: there is a growing Hmong population from Vietnam and Laos, for example.

The O'Connells found a home for Mongo's in a Tudor building that had once been a funeral parlor. They draped the ceiling in heavy cloth.

Diners select ingredients from trays of chicken, beef, pork and seafood, and from bowls of sliced vegetables like broccoli and onions. Next they choose from among 10 oils, wines and sauces - soy, ginger, lemon water, rice wine, treacle, sate, sesame oil, garlic, terriyaki and brown vinegar - which are poured on top of the other ingredients. The next stop is the grill, where a restaurant employee quickly cooks the food.

The cost is $8.95 ($4.95 at lunch) and diners may return to the buffet line as often as they wish. The restaurant serves beer and wine; the second floor has been converted into a bar where patrons, seated on Persian rugs at low tables, may listen to live jazz, blues or Mr. O'Connell's own reggae band.

Mongo's, 231 West Franklin Street (414-730-8304), serves lunch from 11:30 A.M. to 2 P.M, dinner from 5 to 8:45 P.M on weekdays and to 9:15 P.M on weekends.